


you are safe in my heart

by the_aaliyah_rose_black



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Eleven | Jane Hopper Loves Mike Wheeler, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Hurt Mike Wheeler, Hurt/Comfort, Insecure Mike Wheeler, Insecurity, Mike Wheeler Needs a Hug, Sad Mike Wheeler
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-17
Updated: 2021-01-09
Packaged: 2021-03-11 00:40:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,779
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28136349
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_aaliyah_rose_black/pseuds/the_aaliyah_rose_black
Summary: in which mike sacrifices himself for eleven.
Relationships: Eleven | Jane Hopper/Mike Wheeler, Jonathan Byers/Nancy Wheeler, Joyce Byers/Jim "Chief" Hopper, Mike Wheeler & Nancy Wheeler, Steve Harrington & Mike Wheeler, Will Byers & Eleven | Jane & Dustin Henderson & Maxine Mayfield & Lucas Sinclair & Mike Wheeler
Comments: 21
Kudos: 32





	1. near, far, wherever you are

**Author's Note:**

> and here's one filled with angst! this fic was honestly greatly inspired by Arithese's fic, Give Me Pieces of Future, which is really good and i recommend it! this one is different from my previous fic, deep in the night where the moon's glowing bright, and this one is going to be much sadder!
> 
> also, if there are any titanic fans out there, the title is from "my heart will go on!"

His heart was pounding against his ribcage as El leaned further against him, the lights above them flickering madly. Max was right next to him, and Mike felt his breath speeding up as he pounded at the elevator buttons, hearing Billy's thumping footsteps from the hallway. 

"Come on, you piece of shit," he muttered, his breathing now coming in pants before he willed himself to calm down.  _ You're going to make yourself have a panic attack if you don't calm down.  _

Max's footsteps faded away, and Mike turned around along with Eleven, both of them seeing that the red-head had walked out of the room they were in and into the hallway.

"Max?" Eleven asked quietly, her hands searching for his, threading her fingers through his, and he squeezed back, trying to give her some comfort the best he could, while stepping in front of her so that whoever was coming (and he bet it was Billy) wouldn't see her. 

"Billy, Max pleaded. "Billy, you don't have to do this. Billy, your name's Billy Hargrove. You live on 4819 Cherry lane. Billy, please, I'm Max, I'm your sis -" She abruptly stopped talking, and Mike flinched as Billy pushed her against the wall, hard, causing her to fall to the floor. 

He looked awful. Black veins were all over his body, and he was drenched in sweat. Before Mike could register what was happening, he felt as though all the air had been sucked out of his lungs as Billy threw him off, causing him to hit the wall, a few feet away from Max. He winced as his forehead and nose hit the stone wall, black spots swimming in his vision. 

"No!" Eleven screamed, and Mike blinked quickly, seeing her standing against the elevator with her hand held out, ready to attack as Billy walked closer to her.

"Leave her alone, you asshole," he tried to yell, his voice hoarse as his head and nose throbbed, forcing himself up when his body felt as though it was made of lead, and pulling Billy's arm. His eyes widened, terror and anger mixing through his veins as he watched as he threw Eleven against the opposite wall, her crumbling on the floor as if she was weightless. 

Billy turned to him, a smile forming on his face as a deep, echoing voice came from him, "so you want to protect her? You're going to come with me." 

And everything went black as Billy threw him against the wall once more. 

* * *

His head was pounding, and his back was throbbing when Mike awoke, this time, in the mall. He felt something warm and sticky on his nose, and he knew instantly that it was blood. The lights were again blinking, and he knew he wasn't alone.

"Mike, oh, Mike," a sing-song voice came that sounded like Billy. His heart was thumped against his ribcage, and all Mike felt was terror. "Where are you?" 

Swallowing, he tried to get up from where he was lying, but his legs refused to cooperate.

"Shit, shit, shit," he cursed under his breath, his back protesting as he stood up again.  _ Are El and Max okay? Where's Hopper and Joyce? They should've closed the Gate already! _

"Mike, where are you?" Billy sang, and it sounded as if he was right behind him. Mike ran, tripping over a broken piece of one of the store doors. He ignored how his knee throbbed and continued running, Billy's voice echoing through the mall. He was panting, his heart pounding in his chest. 

He ran and ran down the escalators, which had stopped moving, until something or someone grabbed him from behind, causing him to fall to the floor onto his back again. He groaned as he fell, the cold tile floor, falling making his head pounded and his back throb. Turning over, he crawled a few feet away, his legs shaking as he turned around, swallowing when he saw Billy standing there. 

"Leave me alone," Mike got out, trying not to let his voice shake. 

Billy laughed, a peal of cruel, low-pitch laughter that made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. "Oh, but Mike, you're already alone," he laughed, the Mind Flayer using his voice. "Look around, your friends aren't here. You know why?" He paused before speaking again, "because they don't care about you."

"Shut up," he snapped, trying to sound angry when all that came out was a strained noise. 

Billy laughed again. "You can be so stupid sometimes. If your friends gave a shit about you, they'd be here by now. But, no, they don't care. You're too controlling, too protective, get angry too easily, and they wouldn't care if you went missing like Will did. In fact, they'd be celebrating that you're gone, because they don't have to deal with you." 

_ He's lying, he's just trying to get in your head,  _ Mike tried to convince himself. "You're lying," he stuttered out, his eyes burning suddenly with tears.

Billy raised his eyebrow. "Am I?" he asked before leaning down so that he was close to Mike's face. "Because we both know it's true."

Mike didn't respond, a lone tear falling down his left cheek. Billy smirked in satisfaction before he suddenly wrapped his hand around Mike's throat, choking him. 

"No, stop, stop, stop!" he yelled hoarsely, kicking as Billy lifted him effortlessly into the air. Black spots started to fill his vision, and suddenly, he was dropped to the ground, gravity not being his friend as he landed on his ribs. 

He coughed and coughed, wincing as the movement tore apart his throat. Mike looked up as the lights started flickering heavier than before, swallowing the growing lump in his throat when he saw that Billy was now staring at the glass ceiling, and he had an inkling at what he was staring at it.

Using his elbows, Mike then began to crawl away, his heartbeat now pounding in his ears. He only got a few inches away until a screeching sound sounded and the glass shattered into a billion pieces, Mike lifting his arms to protect himself against the shards, which hit him anyway, multiple scratching his legs. He didn't lower his arms until Billy started pulling him by his right ankle. 

"No, let me go!" he yelled, his voice going unheard due to the screeching from the monster. Billy slammed him down on the ground in front of the Mind Flayer, who growled. 

Mike only felt terror. His breathing was quick and shallow again, along with his heart pounding against his ribcage. He now suddenly knew what Billy was doing: luring Eleven and everyone else out by using him. And before he knew it, a claw shot out and struck him right in the leg. 

He cried out, white, hot, burning pain zooming through his leg. Tears blurred his vision, and he clenched them shut, not wanting to give Billy and the Mind Flayer the satisfaction to see him break down. 

He felt himself get lifted up into the air, and Mike opened his eyes, immediately wishing that he didn't since he found himself staring eye-to-eye with the monster, who growled before stabbing him twice: once in his left side and the other at his leg. 

It was then when the tears broke free, loud, pitiful sobs that escaped him. He was alone, there was nobody there, just him, Billy, and the Mind Flayer. 

Unknown to him, his friends had arrived the second the tentacles shot out and stabbed him twice, he just didn't hear them. 

"Mike!" Eleven screamed, her voice rough with tears. 

Mike turned around at the sound of her voice, convinced that he was dreaming, but to his shock, she was standing there, leaning against Max, whose mouth was open in shock as her eyes darted between him, the monster, and her step-brother.

"El, Max, get out of here -" only for another hot flash of pain as a tentacle shot out at his thigh, and he let out a sob as it did so. Then, all of a sudden, the mall was exploded in color. 

_ So they went with Lucas's idea to use fireworks,  _ he thought distantly, too focused on the throbbing pain in his sides and ankles.

"Flay this, you ugly piece of shit!" someone yelled, throwing a firework at the Mind Flayer, who roared (more like screeched) in pain, finally letting go of Mike. Gravity wasn't his friend once again, and he thumped to the ground, his already throbbing back and right leg taking the fall. He whimpered in pain, crawling away. 

The whole mall was exploded with color, the fireworks certainly doing their job as when they hit the Mind Flayer, both it and Billy screamed in pain. Mike's whole body was shaking as he tried to crawl away, somewhat aware of the blood leaking from his wounds. 

"Hey, asshole! Over here!" Steve grunted, throwing another firework. Mike winced at the screech, not helping much with his pounding headache. He definitely had a concussion. As he tried to crawl toward El and Max, Billy grabbed him by his bleeding leg, and Mike cried out, trying to crawl back on the floor, but it was too much, and Billy was too strong, his arms just flopped lazily by his side. 

"Get away from him!" both Max and El shouted, and he blinked in surprise, only to whimper as Billy kicked him in the leg and threw him down on his back. There was no other emotion on his face other than pure anger. He cried out as Billy slammed him down on the cold, tile floor, probably stained with his own blood, getting on top of him and squeezing his throat again. 

Everything hurt, and Mike gasped, his hands uselessly trying to claw Billy's hands off his throat. He couldn't breathe, he was losing air fast, the only sound he could hear was the fireworks and the monster screeching in pain. He was aware of how much the wounds hurt, how he was leaking blood, and his whole life seemed to flash before his very eyes:  _ Meeting all of his friends, Will going missing, meeting El, seeing her again after almost a whole year, kissing her at the Snowball -  _

The Mind Flayer let out another tremendous screech, and Billy suddenly let go of him, throwing him back onto the tile on his ribs and back. Mike gasped and coughed, oxygen rushing back into his lungs. He rubbed at his throat as if that was going to do anything, tears streaming down his face as his sides, leg, back, and head throbbed with pain.

He flinched at another boom of the fireworks, and he felt slightly dizzy, the whole world spinning for a second. Eleven suddenly cried out with pain, crumbling to the floor, and Mike's head turned toward her. Billy dragged her by the leg toward the Mind Flayer, and he tried to scream, tried to warn her, tried to yell at Billy to get away from her, but no words came out beside a raspy cry. 

Billy did the same thing he did to him, pinning El to the ground. She frantically looked around, locking eyes with him for a brief second before turning back to Billy, before gasping out:

"Seven feet," she wheezed, "you told her the wave was seven feet. You ran to her, on the beach. There were seagulls. She wore a hat, with a blue ribbon, a long dress, with a blue and red flower. And yellow sandals, covered in sand. She was pretty. She was really pretty. And you, you were happy," El placed her hand softly on Billy’s cheek. Mike watched with blurry eyes at the scene a few feet away from him, watching as Billy stood up. 

And suddenly, he knew what was going to happen before it did.

Billy locked eyes with the Mind Flayer, and El scrambled backward, crawling on her elbows. Max started to rush toward her but froze in her spot as a tentacle shot out from the monster's mouth. Both girls raised their arms up as if to protect themselves when a scream shot out, and Mike squinted his eyes to see that Billy had caught the claw in his hands. 

He watched with wide eyes and a gasp stuck in his throat as more and more claws came at Billy, stabbing him, the older boy screaming in pain. Everything happened so quickly, too quickly for his eyes to register, and before Mike knew it, a claw shot out and stabbed Billy once in the heart, before the Mind Flayer screeched and collapsed on the mall floor. 

"BILLY!" Max screamed, and Mike blinked as he saw Billy fall slowly to the floor, black and red blood leaking. 

"Mike!" several people yelled and Eleven crawled toward him as Lucas ran down, taking Max into his arms, who sobbed into his shirt. 

"Mike, oh my god," Will gasped, helping Eleven up. 

"Mike," Eleven whimpered, breaking away from Will and collapsing onto her knees beside him. From the corner of his eye, Mike saw Nancy leaning into Jonathan's arms, Robin with a hand over her mouth in shock, and Steve running his hands through his hair stressfully. 

"El, you're okay," Mike whispered, and El smiled tearfully, letting out a sob. 

"But you're not," she whispered back, grabbing his hand. 

"I'll be fine, I always will," he slurred his words a little at the end, pulling his hand away weakly from Eleven's, before everything went black. 


	2. once more, you open the door

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i hope you like this chapter! i'm currently working on a titanic version of a mileven fanfic, where mike and el take the spot of jack and rose! 
> 
> also, i am in no WAY a medical expert, so if i get anything wrong, please forgive and correct me!

"Mike!" Eleven cried, tears spilling over her eyes as she watched the boy she loved fall unconscious. Nancy felt tears squeeze out of her eyes, and Jonathan squeezed her shoulder once. 

Lucas and Max walked over, the red-head wrapped up in his arms, and she placed a hand over her mouth. Without thinking, Lucas unwrapped his arm around Max and ran toward where Mike's head lay, placing his right ear over his mouth. 

"Lucas, what are you doing -?" Nancy asked, her voice thick. 

He ignored her and continued to listen, before a relieved smile formed on his face, his head shooting up to look at his friends. "He's still breathing." 

"We need to get him to a hospital," Will stated the obvious, rubbing his eyes quickly before standing up. 

"Wait," Max interjected, and everyone looked at her. She looked miserable: dried tear tracks on her cheeks, her eyes bloodshot and puffy. "Is Dustin still at Cerebro with Erica?" she asked Steve, who nodded. "Then we'll -"

" - we'll have to tell him what happened," Steve finished for her, his voice going tight as he glanced down at Mike's beaten, battered, and bloody body, Eleven's hunched form over him, Lucas kneeling down by his head, checking every thirty seconds if he was still breathing, and Nancy with her head buried in Jonathan's chest, hitching breaths coming from her every few minutes. He dreaded having to tell Dustin, since he knew that everyone else was going to vote on him telling him. 

Before anyone could say anything, the doors of the mall burst open, and hundreds of military officers rushed inside, holding guns. None of them know what's happen or when the army got here, and all they could do is hold their hands up in the symbol of surrender.

"We're American!" Robin yelled out, and Steve silently thanked her in his head. One of the officers nodded his head and glanced around, at the fallen monster in the center, at Billy's body collapsed in a boneless heap on the floor, and finally at Mike's unconscious and bleeding body on the floor. 

"Alright," the same officer stated before turning to the rest of the officers, "can we have some medics in here?"

* * *

**_ Several hours later... _ **

It seems like it's been forever that they've all been sitting there. El got her leg stitched up and was resting in another room with Hopper. Mike had been taken into surgery and was still there. 

They all sat in the waiting room, Nancy was pacing back and forth, Steve sat with Dustin and Lucas on either side of him, Dustin fell asleep on his arm (Steve didn't blame him, he was exhausted too), Max on the other side with Will, both of them talking in hushed voices. The room is extremely tense, all of them waiting on news about Mike. 

The door opened and everyone got up, Steve shaking Dustin awake, who coughed but stood up as well. A doctor stepped out, and his name tag read  _ Dr. Ryan _ . 

"Anyone here for Mike Wheeler?" Dr. Ryan asked.

"We all are," Jonathan answered as he and Nancy walked over. The doctor raised his eyebrows. 

"No adults?" he asked.

"Steve's technically an adult," Dustin snapped back, and instead of snapping back at him, Dr. Ryan nodded. 

"Is Mike going to be okay?" Max asked in a quiet voice, and Steve felt strangely shocked. Max and Mike had never shown that they cared about each other, but deep down, he now assumed, they must love each other like siblings. 

Dr. Ryan's piercing blue eyes softened. "Mr. Wheeler - Mike, it's going to be just fine in due time. He has a severe concussion, and we had to stitch up his left side along with both legs. His back will also most likely be bothering him for the next few weeks and maybe for the whole month, since he took a pretty hard fall." 

"How do we help him?" both Nancy and Steve asked. 

"I suggest using over-the-counter pain medication, and we're obviously sending him home with medicine, but over-the-counter medicine should work just fine. Heat and cold compresses can also help, along with light exercise, just as maybe walking down the street or around the house," he explained, Steve and Nancy both nodding. 

"Can we see him?" Lucas asked hopefully, the first time he had spoken since they had gotten to the hospital.

"He's asleep right now from the pain medication he's on, and we can only have a couple of people at the time, so three people are just fine," Dr. Ryan answered. Lucas and Dustin followed him, Dustin nudging Steve's arm, who shared a look with Nancy and Jonathan, the other two teenagers nodding. 

Dr. Ryan led them into the room that Mike was currently in, which was the recovery room. He then left, telling them to hit the blue button if Mike woke up.

The poor kid looked awful, in Steve's point of view. His skin was pale, he had bruises around his throat which looked extremely painful, heavy bags under his eyes from not sleeping, but his heartbeat was steady, and his chest was rising and falling with every breath, which was a good sign. 

"What did Billy do to him?" Dustin asked quietly, and Steve squeezed his shoulder in what he hoped to be a reassuring way. 

They both sat there for a few more minutes, talking quietly, the only other sound being the beeping of the heart monitor. Suddenly, they heard slight whimpering, and Lucas whipped his head around, his eyes widening when he saw that Mike was waking up. His eyes flickered open and closed before he groaned and squeezed them shut.

Thinking quickly, Dustin ran over and pressed the blue button that Dr. Ryan told them to press if Mike woke up, before sitting next to Lucas on the two chairs. 

"Mike?" he asked quietly, grabbing his friend's hand and squeezing. Mike's eyes flickered open, and in walked a nurse, who smiled once seeing that Mike was awake.

"Aw, you're awake!" she stated happily, walking over to him, Lucas and Dustin moving out of the way slightly. "How are you feeling? Do you need anything?" 

"Lights," Mike rasped, and the nurse nodded in understanding, walking over to the other side of the room, and turning the lights down so they weren't so bright. 

"Let me know if you guys need anything else, and there are ice chips on the table right there, since he got a tube pulled out of his throat from surgery," the nurse explained before leaving the room. Steve walked over and grabbed the styrofoam cup, where there in fact ice chips inside. 

"Here, this should help your throat," he told him and Mike nodded a small nod, Steve handing him one that Mike gratefully swallowed. 

"How are you feeling?" Dustin asked now, a small smile on his face.

"Why are you here?" Mike cut him off, his voice still quiet and hoarse, but they could hear him. 

Dustin's smile fell, and he looked confused, his brows furrowing. "What?" 

"Why are you guys here? You should all be at home, you guys fought the Mind Flayer too," he told him, his eyes glancing down at the IV in his hand. 

"Mike, you got seriously injured, Billy could've killed you," Steve stated, his voice getting louder at the end and Mike flinched. "Where else would we be?" 

Mike didn't respond, still staring at the IV in his hand, but he was now blinking furiously. After a minute or two, he looked back up, and Lucas's heart broke seeing tears glistening in his best friend's eyes. 

"Do you guys care about me?" he asked quietly, so quietly that they had to strain their ears to him. 

"Mike, why would you even ask that?" Dustin gasped, "of course we care about you, you're our Party Leader, we need you -" 

" - but I haven't been much of a leader this summer," Mike quickly answered back, his voice a whisper. "I'm sorry I've been such an asshole, I didn't mean to, and I get if you want me to resign, Dustin, you'll make such a better leader than me. I'm sorry I get angry so easily, I'm sorry if I'm controlling, I don't mean to be -"

"Mike," Lucas cut him off and Mike instantly stopped rambling, looking down again at the bed and the IV. "Mike, look at me," he commanded gently. Biting his lip, Mike looked up, tears still in his eyes. "Mike, we all love you. Yes, you can be controlling sometimes, but we know it's because you want to keep us safe. And we were all assholes this summer, but my point is that no matter what you do, we'll still love you." 

After Lucas's speech, Mike was silent, a few tears slipping down his cheeks, and whether it be from pain or from emotion, none of them knew. He then buried his head in his hands, his body shaking with barely-audible sobs. Thinking quickly, Steve walked over and enveloped the boy in a hug, rubbing Mike's back as he sobbed into his shirt. 


End file.
